On the night of 7-8 December, the oil tanker Larus was assisted by the intervention, assistance and salvage tug (RIAS) Abeille Bourbon as it drifted slowly from its anchorage.
The vessel, empty of cargo, with 13 people on board, had been at anchor in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc since 9 November the date on which it had declared damage while sailing in the traffic separation scheme (TSS) of Ouessant. Since that date, it had been waiting for the arrival of the tug that was to take it to Estonia to carry out its repairs. The arrival in the area of this tug, initially scheduled for 5 December 2024, had been delayed by the poor weather conditions of the last few days.
On 7 December in very poor weather conditions linked to the Darragh storm , the Larus reported to the Corsen Regional Operational Surveillance and Rescue Center (CROSS) that its anchor was “hunting” and that it was slowly drifting towards the coast. The Atlantic Maritime Prefect, in conjunction with the CROSS Corsen which was coordinating the operation, decided to have the Abeille Bourbon set sail from its waiting area at Stiff, near the island of Ouessant, to reach the Larus as quickly as possible. Later, the ship’s shore agent requested assistance from the authorities to assist the Larus.
Furthermore, given the weather conditions and the environment of the Bay of Saint Brieuc, the Maritime Prefect also requested the support of the port of Saint-Malo and one of its tugs to assist the ship. After setting sail around 9:00 p.m., the ship was forced by the weather conditions and returned to port a little before 11:00 p.m. Around 11:45 p.m., the RIAS Abeille Bourbon came to the area.
Later, at 00:50, the RIAS Abeille Bourbon having been unable to pass the tow on the Larus, the Atlantic Maritime Prefecture (Premar Atlantique) decided to send an Evaluation and Intervention Team (EEI) on board the ship, with the support of a H160 helicopter from the French Navy.
At 04:28, after a delicate maneuver, the trailer passed between the Abeille Bourbon and the Larus. The team then began its transit to its host port, which it would reach during the day of 8 December. Furthermore, throughout the operation, an H160 helicopter from the Lanvéoc-Poulmic naval air base remained on alert in order to evacuate the tanker’s crew or bring reinforcements on board, if necessary.
This operation was conducted in coordination with the Delegation for the Sea and the Coastline and the Prefecture of Côtes d’Armor (DML 22), the Center for Practical Expertise in Pollution Control (CEPPOL) of the French Navy and the State Action at Sea teams of the Maritime Prefecture of the Atlantic to anticipate any eventuality of consequences on land of this event.
The vessel was scheduled to reach the port of Brest on 8 December, where it will remain sheltered until the end of the Darragh storm. It could then be towed to Estonia for repairs according to the Maritime Prefecture statement.
